What On Earth?-Column #8, January 2003

Well, here we are in 2003. We have TOTALLY put 2002 behind us, because for many of us, it was a BAD year. I'll start with the traditions that people begin the New Year with, then I'll go into a "Year In Review" perspective of all the ups and downs of 2002. I'll even talk about the birthdays of 2 legends.

Well, what would the New Year be without those Bowl Games? There are plenty of those, you say, but only FOUR of them stand out on top: The Rose Bowl, played in Pasadena, California is the TOP one. This is where we base the Tournament Of Roses Parade, another New Year's tradition, on. Then there's the Sugar Bowl, played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Very good place. There's also the Orange Bowl, played in Miami, Florida. Remember, 90% of the oranges we eat come from Florida. Last, but not least, there's the Fiesta Bowl, played in Tempe, Arizona. Very warm place.

And of course, starting in 1999, after their coverage of the Rose Parade, CBS goes STRAIGHT to regular programming, starting with the final 3 CBS Daytime shows of the day: The Bold And The Beautiful, As The World Turns, and Guiding Light. I've been following it ever since that time.

This month marks the birthday of the KING, Elvis Presley. This month, he would have turned 68. Even though he's gone, most of us still enjoy his music. And that says a lot about he changed the rock n' roll industry for good.

This month ALSO marks the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. This civil rights leader was famous in many ways, but he was most famous for winning the Nobel Peace Prize for civil rights, and his "I Have A Dream..." speech led him there. That's another thing he's famous for.

Now, it's time for a look back at 2002. As many of you know, this was the year of SCANDALS. From sex to corporate, Priests to Enron, this was the year many people would like to put behind them. As you know, Enron went broke in December 2001, and has been under fire AND pressure since then. We watched as some employees and executives testified on Capitol Hill on the company's collapse, and some even chose to take the Fifth Amendment, that is, they do NOT want to be a witness against THEMSELVES. It's a right everyone takes for granted. And in June 2002, bishops of all types from Catholic to Christian were going to build a new sex-abuse policy. This comes from all the sexual child abuse cases that have been going on in the news. And so far, I think, these new policies are working, so that if something like this should occur again, we'll be ready.

2002 was also the year of CHILD KIDNAPPINGS. Danielle Van Dam was murdered in California in January. David Westerfield, a neighbor, was convicted in her death, and sentenced to death THIS YEAR. But this murder started some more of the same type in the months ahead, and so far, we've seen very few.

2002 was good and bad in the year of SPORTS. Sarah Hughes, a Long Island, New York native; skated her way to being the youngest ever to win a gold medal in the Olympics, during the Salt Lake Games. Preceding her was Tara Lipinski, a Sugarland, Texas native; during the 1998 Nagano Games. The California Angels won their FIRST World Series ever, beating the San Francisco Giants to get there. They've come a long way since. Unfortunately, we lost a few stars that year as well. From Ted Williams of baseball's past to Darrell Kile of baseball's present, we saw a lot of good memories from them, too. Other bad things that happened: As you may know a lot of NFL coaches got the boot after disappointing seasons. For the Dallas Cowboys, that meant firing head coach Dave Campo after THREE Consecutive 5-11 seasons. Jerry Jones, the current owner, has hired AND fired 5 head coaches in his career: The late Tom Landry, who died in 2000; Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, and now, Dave Campo. But now, the team's 6th head coach, Bill Parcells, who coached with the New England Patriots and New York Jets, is going to have an opportunity to turn this team around. Let's hope he does well. The MLB's All-Star Game did NOT go too well. After 11 innings, the score ends tied. And during that same baseball season, that game led many fans to believe ANOTHER STRIKE WAS POSSIBLE. The last strike was in 1994, and that virtually wiped out the World Series. Fortunately, NO strike occured, and the season went on as planned.

Now, speaking of deaths, we had many that year, from columnist Ann Landers to comedian Milton Berle, from country singer Waylon Jennings to actor Richard Harris. All in all, the people who died doing what they did and loving what they did best gave us a fun run for our money and entertainment. We learned good things from them, and they were great. ABC News and ABC Sports president Roone Arledge was a legend in bringing great programming to our TV's. From "Wide World Of Sports" to "Monday Night Football," from "Good Morning America" to "World News Tonight," from "PrimeTime LIVE" to "20/20," and so on, Americans loved how he created and produced these great shows that we wouldn't have today if it hadn't been for him. Daniel Pearl of the Wall Street Journal was investigating the war in Afghanistan, when he was captured and killed. His captors have been arrested, and charged. But so far, NO CONVICTIONS. That's going to take a long time to get what we wish.

As we also know as well, 2002 was a bad year for the financial markets. Many companies had been going bankrupt and laying off people following 9-11-01. And this led to drops in the markets for most of the year. From K-Mart to WorldCom, from United to US Airways, it just wasn't a good year for investors. A lot of cash went out of stocks and into bonds that year, but on days that stocks were doing well, that's where most of the cash went. And like Enron, many of the people who were laid off had their retirement savings virtually WIPED OUT.

This year ALSO marked TWO of the BIGGEST ONE-YEAR Anniversaries we will remember when we go to New York: The first being 9-11, and the second being 11-12. That day, AA Flight 587 crashed in Queens, killing all on board. There has been no confirmed cause of the crash, but be assured, it was NOT terrorism. 9-11 was the day of infamy, the day when 4 planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon. This sparked a new phrase in the war on terrorism: "LET'S ROLL!" And so far, we've been rolling along with our war on terrorism. The FIRST Terrorist attack on the WTC and NYC was the WTC Bombing on 2-26-93. That day, only 6 people died, and 1,000+ were injured. That year, the 9th anniversary was celebrated. I'll have more on it in my February column, so watch for it sometime soon.

And, as you know, movie mania swept through. The sequels of many hits came out, such as the Santa Clause 2, Star Wars: Episode II-Attack Of The Clones, and Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets. If you know the prequels to these movies, YOU'RE IN LUCK! If not, well, I'll tell you. The first was based on the Santa Clause, which came out in 1994, the second; Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace, which came out in 1999, and the third; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Also, a lot of Oscars were awarded from Halle Berry to Denzel Washington.

And what about television? Well, some left the air that year for good, from the WB's Roswell, to Fox's X-Files. And some came, like UPN's Enterprise, the PREQUEL to what we would call STAR TREK, which launched a new movie last year, STAR TREK: NEMESIS. I hope you've had a chance to go out and see it. This will lead me into one of my FAVORITE GENRES OF TELEVISION: GAME SHOWS.

If you look at my October column, you'll have a pretty nice view of those shows. I'll talk about some of the ones I did NOT mention. I will also mention some of the shows that came and went in 2002. Here we go.

"Beat The Clock"-As you know, this was a hit in the 50's and 80's. This revival is different. This version involves stunts, which, if you're smart enough to BEAT THE CLOCK at, will get you to the show's bonus round, the SWIRLING WHIRLWIND OF CASH AND PRIZES. There's over $25,000 in cash and some nice colored prize certificates, and even some GOLD certificates, shaped like antiquated $100 bills. Pick up one of those, and your total's doubled. The show's hosted by Whammy! announcer Gary Kroeger, and is co-hosted by Julielinh Parker. She's in charge of counting up the cash, and how many prize certificates the winning pair picked up, in which it has to be in a money bag attached to one of the contestants, once 60 seconds expires.

"WinTuition"-This NEW GSN Original, hosted by Marc Summers tests how much YOU learned in school, as contestants on this show play to pick up $50,000 in cash and some other goodies for college. It could be for THEM or for someone else.

"Cram"-This one I do NOT LIKE, even though it's a new GSN Original. You are given 24 hours of facts and you have to use that time to cram them into your brain with NO sleep. What a BORE! I CAN'T DO THAT!

Now for the shows that I liked last year, that came and went. Here we go, AGAIN!

"The Chair"-This ABC show, hosted by John MacEnroe, a tennis star, tests your quest to win up to $250,000 by answering seven questions, NOT several questions. This is one of those shows where there's a set number of questions and a value is set for each one, a la Millionaire and Greed. This show also tests your ability and capability to KEEP YOUR HEART RATE UNDER CONTROL. Each time you RED-LINE, that is go over your pre-set rate, you lose money. Only ONE person won the top prize.

"The Chamber"-This FOX show, hosted by Rick Schwartz, basically has the same thing, except in this show, there are TWO Chambers, Cold and Hot, which is chosen by the computer. You are given one minute in each level (there are 7), to answer as many questions as you can, each worth $1,000. If the show's medical team thinks that you can't handle it inside, or Rick, or YOU, the chamber will stop, and you'll lose only HALF of what you've got. Better than leaving with NOTHING, I say.

"Weakest Link" (NBC)-One of TWO British hits that is doing well with SYNDICATION, and DID well in PRIMETIME, but then, as you expected, like another hit, went downhill AND overboard with, you guessed it, CELEBRITY EPISODES! And the syndication episodes don't have those. YET. So, that's GOOD.

"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" (ABC)-You guessed it, this show ALSO went overboard with the celebrity shows. And, that's not all. The rescheduling of the show, and removal of the phone game just didn't seem to sit with people. NOT EVEN ME. But with the syndication episodes, it's much better. EVERYONE GETS TO PLAY, EVEN ME. No more having to deal with Fastest Finger. And, even though some people think the questions are harder, I'm thinking half-easy, half-hard. So, a mediocre-type style version, is what I'm thinking. And so far, NO CELEB SHOWS YET.

Above, you see that I talked about the College Bowls. Now, I will talk about THE SUPER BOWL. On the last Sunday of January, people gather around TV's to watch the big game played by the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games. And do you know what the prize is for the winner? That's correct, the VINCE LOMBARDI Trophy, in honor of one of the most famous NFL coaches ever. From chicken wings, to pizza, everyone's got a Super Bowl menu to fit YOUR tastes, and hopefully MINE. I'm sure that's on your mind, too. GOOD Football Food is hard to find.

Anyway, I'll be talking about the 17th anniversary of the Challenger Disaster, and the 10th anniversary of the 1993 WTC Bombing in next month's column. Until then, this is John Lee, wishing you the very best 2003 has to offer! Go back HOME!